Gene expression profiling of sensitive skin

Sensitive skin is a hyperactive skin condtion, characterized by prickling, burning, itching, stinging, pain, or tingling sensation, which develops in response to various internal and external stimulants that can be tolerated by most people. The pathophysiology involved in the development of sensitive skin remains largely elusive. To characterize differential gene expression profiles in sensitive skin, we investigated the genome-wide patterns of gene expression from skin samples from subjects with sensitive or non-sensitive skin, following lactic acid challenge or normal saline application using cDNA microarrays. We recruited eighteen healthy volunteers with sensitive skin (n=9) or non-sensitive skin (n=9). From each subject, two skin samples were obtained following lactic acid or normal saline application.(18 samples/group) Based on the existence of sensitive skin and lactic acid challenge, samples were pooled into sets of three individuals each. Global transcriptome profiling was conducted using Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 array.